Ms Creighton took to Twitter this afternoon to criticise the replacement of every printer in Leinster House even if they are still working.

The Renua boss told Independent.ie she was “astonished” the Oireachtas was splashing out on new printers and insisted she did not want a new one.

“The timing is very curious given that we are approaching an election. We were astonished, we didn’t request additional equipment – a lot of this equipment is a little more than six months old,”

She added: “We didn’t need or want this. We would far prefer if this expenditure went on things like schools, hospitals and nursing homes. People are outraged - I’ve been contacted by lots of people today. It is the sort of thing that gives politics a bad name.”

However, the Oireachtas hit back insisting the new printers, which are part of an overhaul of printing services, would result in savings and said the newer printers being replaced will be reused.

“There is no question of any waste of public money in these new arrangements. In fact, the new approach is expected to produce savings of up to 20 percent on our current print costs per annum,” a spokesman said.

He added: “It would also be wrong to infer that recently purchased printers will be rendered obsolete. While the vast majority of our current printers are over five years old, all newer devices are being re-used to meet the requirements of remote sites on the Oireachtas Network.”

The Oireachtas did not say how much the new printers cost but said the contract was awarded through an open tender process which aimed to get the best value for the taxpayer.